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It’s time to pot up your winter Amaryllis garden! If you plant them now, you’ll be enjoying big, bright, colorful blooms even as the days get shorter, darker and consistently grey for winter.
‘Merry Christmas’ Amaryllis planted in late November bloomed in December & January. Each of three bulbs opened at different times.
These aren’t bulbs you force to bloom in winter. These beauties naturally put on blossoms in winter. (And, if you move them into the garden come spring, they may even bloom outdoors in summer too. We enjoyed an outdoor ‘Merry Christmas‘ in August!)
Our tips to get you started with your winter Amaryllis garden…
Pick pretty pots: Your Amaryllis will need to live in a spot with the best winter sunlight you can offer. And, since you’ll probably be showing them off as part of your holiday decor, make them as pretty as can be! We’ve got a few in our store links that follow. Too, many craft stores and garden centers offer relatively inexpensive decorative containers. Or, visit a second-hand store where you may find something nice for less than a buck. We found a few cheap tins last year, which helped keep our hostess gift costs low & our hostesses very happy!
Once your bulbs are planted into gorgeous containers like this ‘antiqued’ terra cotta pot, make sure to top them off with something to hide flaws & make your display pop even before the flowers begin to strut their stuff! Soon that little nub in the center will be a gorgeous ‘Christmas Star’ posy.
Be sure your container drains: You’ll want to fill a container with luscious potting soil, water it well and let it drain. Many decorative containers aren’t designed to drain. So, either drill them or insert a flexible plastic pot into your decorative pot to line it. Then, plant into the plastic one!
Recycle old plastic nursery containers to line your decorative pots. If the liners don’t quite fit, trim them to size. Thinner plastics are easiest to cut.
Plant variety: Amaryllis come in all shapes and sizes. We played it pretty safe last year with a luscious red ‘Merry Christmas’ variety that has a relatively short stalk. This year, we’re mixing it up with miniature green and burgundy ‘Graffitti’, tall ‘Christmas Star’ with red, white and green blooms, and ‘Exotic Star’ in striation of chartreuse and raspberry-red. Stay tuned for blooming pix via the links at the end of this post!
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Top it off: Since it may be weeks before your flowers appear, add decorative mosses to the top of your planted containers. This will hide any imperfections like gaps between the pretty pot and the liner, ragged liner edges and anything else you want to sweep under the rug!
Our antique plant stands spend the winter in south & west facing windows. This one holds three ‘Exotic Star’ bulbs. The stand in the distance holds ‘Christmas Star.’ Bloom pix to come in the weeks ahead!
Art it up: When you haul out your holiday decorations, nestle some of your ornaments into your mossy nests to add extra bling.
More plants, please: Spread a few conifer (not sappy pine) branches around the base of centerpiece containers and dapple them with ornamental berries to really make things pop.
Add some light: Drape a little LED light strand around your containers. Or, add to your centerpiece look by brightening things up with a few candles – just be smart about placement. You don’t want to light anything on fire!
We’ll be adding art and centerpiece decor a little later in the season and will share pix once we do.
Want tips to avoid flops? Wondering which varieties our Amaryllis Advent pals Dee and Kylee love best? Read our original Amaryllis Advent post from 2014 here.
